TOW the Restaurant Revelation
by simplymondler
Summary: An alternative way of Rachel discovering Monica and Chandler's relationship. This is set in season 5 when only Joey knows about them. Mondler.


TOW the Restaurant Revelation

* * *

An alternative way of Rachel discovering Monica and Chandler's relationship. This is set in season 5 when only Joey knows about them but I've had to stretch the timeline a little bit for this to work so you'll need to imagine they were better at keeping it a secret than they were…

* * *

"Oooh, very nice," Rachel commented impressed as James gestured to the entrance of the restaurant he'd picked.

"Nothing but the very best for my date," he winked, holding open the door.

"Such a gentleman," she grinned entering the warm restaurant.

Oh it was very nice indeed. She'd heard about this place but had never stepped foot inside. Most guys thought it was too expensive for any kind of date especially a first date. Obviously James was not your average guy…this had potential.

Rachel gazed around, admiring the expensive restaurant as James gave the maître d' his name. As she looked them up on the reservations book Rachel continued to observe the room. She spotted a bottle of champagne in a bucket of ice being wheeled across her line of vision. Oooh what she wouldn't do for one of those bottles to be delivered to their table… although from a place like this it had to be very expensive. She was probably asking just a little bit too much.

Longingly, her eyes followed the pricey bottle as it wove through the tables and arrived at a side booth and…what? She blinked not quite believing her eyes. Chandler? All suited and booted? What was he doing at a place like this? She watched as the brunette he sat opposite turned to see the champagne and Rachel gasped. Monica?

Chandler and Monica?

"Rachel? Are you ok?" James asked jolting her back to reality.

"Sure," she murmured vacantly, still shocked and confused.

"Then would you care to follow the nice hostess to our table?" he asked amused.

She blinked, noticing for the first time that the hostess was waiting, menus in hand.

"Um sure," she started to follow. "Wait!" the hostess stopped, "can we have that empty booth?" she gestured to the vacant one next to her friends.

"Certainly Miss," she looked a little annoyed but Rachel assumed she must be used to all sorts of requests from their rich customers.

"Great, James walk in front of me!"

"What?"

"Just do it," she ordered gesturing for him to move. "I'll explain as soon as we sit down, please?"

Rachel was grateful when he shrugged easily and followed the lady to the requested booth. She slipped into the high-backed seat, confident that he'd blocked her friends' view. Now she just had to change seats so she backed onto their booth, then hopefully she might be able to hear them.

"Can we swap seats?" she whispered.

"What?"

Why did he have to question everything?

"Please?"

"Ok…" He stood up and waited for her to get out, confused and bemused when instead she opted to go under the table and pop up the other side. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"That's Monica and Chandler," she hissed as she gestured dramatically to the booth behind them.

"And…?"

"I think they're on a date!"

"And…so are we."

Rachel shook her head, he wasn't getting it.

"They don't date," she informed him quietly, "they're just friends."

"Are they your friends?"

She nodded at him, before turning her attention to the laughter coming from the booth behind them.

_"I can't believe you got us champagne."_ _She heard Monica giggle. "You know you don't have to get me drunk."_

_"I did that first time,"_ _he laughed._

_"You did not."_ _Monica protested_. _"I did that all myself; you were the perfect gentleman."_

_"I try. Besides, how could I not order champagne when I'm celebrating the fact that I've managed to be in a relationship with the most incredible person on this planet, without screwing it up for 6 whole months?"_

Rachel tried to hide her gasp. 6 months?

_"You screwed it up a few times."_

_"Yeah but you love me anyway."_

_"That I do."_

"So do you know what you want to order?" She could hear the sarcasm in James' voice. She hadn't even opened the menu yet.

"Sorry," she whispered, "but this is big! They've been together 6 months!"

He gave her fake smile, the importance of this information completely lost on him.

"6 months," she repeated quietly to herself still in shock.

"I thought you were their friend?" he commented. "I take it you're not that close if they've been together that long without you knowing about them?"

His assumption annoyed her.

"Best friends," she grated. "She's my roommate!"

Why hadn't they told her? Why hadn't Monica at least told her?

"Oh too bad…anyhow if you'd like to actually look at the menu you'll be better prepared for when the waitress comes over to take our order."

"Of course, sorry, I-" Rachel paused, distracted by the excited squeal from the next table.

_"Oh my god Chandler, they're beautiful." _

What? What was beautiful? Rachel sighed in annoyance- which was mimicked by James. Taking the hint she picked up her menu pretending to muse over the options whilst actually still listening her friends' conversation.

_"Not as beautiful as you."_

_"Aww!" _Aww. Who knew Chandler could be so romantic? _"How did I get so lucky to be with you?"_

_"You must have been bad in a past life," he teased. "You should check with Phoebe."_

She heard Monica laugh. God they sounded so happy together. She felt almost bad that she hadn't noticed.

_"Did you choose them yourself?"_

Oooh she really wanted to know what they were talking about.

_"Of course I did, it's not like I could ask Joey for his opinion on women's jewelry. Especially if you recall his taste in men's jewelry; I think Mr T is still looking for those hideous bracelets."_

So it was jewelry he'd bought her.

"Hello, may I take your order?"

"No," Rachel hissed quickly, ignoring James' raised eyebrow. "We aren't quite ready yet."

"Define 'we'," she heard him mutter.

"Oh excuse me," she grabbed the waitress' arm, "would you do me a *small* favor?" She smiled whilst wishing that they had a male waiter to make it easier for her to use her charms.

"Miss?"

"When you walk past that table," she gestured behind her with a nod of her head, "can you look to see what jewelry he's given her?"

"Pardon me?"

"Please," she persisted, "just do a lap of the restaurant and come back here. I promise we'll be ready to order and will leave a *big* tip."

She still looked confused but nodded, turning and walking away. Rachel smiled in victory at James who was shaking his head.

"Look, are you going to be weird throughout this whole date?"

"Nooo," she denied "It's just-"

_"They reminded me of your eyes...and now I feel incredibly sappy."_

_"God, you're so cute."_

"Rachel," James brought her back to their date. "I'm not paying $100 for you to listen to your friends' tete-a-tete."

"I know but-"

_"Do you think it's time we told them?"_

Rachel held her breath at Monica's words, instantly forgetting James as she waited for the answer.

"Look maybe-"

"Sshhhh!" she hissed annoyed.

_"Yeah I guess," she heard Chandler sigh_. _"I'll miss this being our thing though, ya know?"_

The waitress suddenly appeared with a polite smile.

"May I take your orders?" she asked in a normal voice before leaning forward and whispering to Rachel, "earrings, very nice looking – sapphires."

"Yes I'll have-" James started optimistically but was cut off by Rachel.

"Sapphires? Really? Did they look real?"

"Oh yeah and they're a *really* nice shade of blue; dark but not too dark. And they are diamond encrusted."

"Diamonds?" She asked amazed.

"Uh huh, all around the edge."

"Wow."

"Yeah," the waitress agreed.

"OK, Rachel look," he started to stand up, "I don't think is going to work out."

Crap, she hadn't meant to totally ignore him but this revelation tonight was too huge. It was Monica and Chandler.

"What? No, come on Jim uh I mean James…*James*," she knew she had lost. "Damn it," she muttered as he left.

"Do you still want to order any food?" The waitress asked sympathetically.

"Well…" She couldn't really afford these prices and didn't really want to eat alone. She could just grab something on the way home.

_"I just think it's time to tell them you know…"_

"How about I get you a glass of wine?" She winked, "they've just ordered dessert so won't be here much longer anyhow."

"Thank you," Rachel mouthed, settling back into her booth to eavesdrop.

_"…it's just, I wish when I get home tonight I could tell Rachel how amazing you are, tell her all about this place and show off the lovely earrings. I wished I could have told the girls about my excitement all week – they could have helped me guess where you were going to take me on a date – though I doubt neither of them would have guessed you would have picked this place."_

Too true, Rachel thought as she heard Chandler's gentle chuckle.

_"I wish," Monica continued_,_"that they could have helped me get ready tonight. Rachel could have done that curly thing with my hair that she does so well."_

Rachel softly nodded, she would have done that.

_"And then we could spend the whole night together and not have to set our alarm at stoopid-o-clock so you can sneak out. I'm in the best relationship of my life, Chandler and I wanna share it with my friends."_

_"I know," Chandler said_. _"So when do we tell them and how? It's not like I can just walk up to Ross and say 'hey, guess what? I've been doing your sister for the last 6 months…surprise!'"_

_"I was thinking we could word it *slightly* differently. I think Phoebe and Rachel will be happy for us, I mean I hope they will be. They may be a little annoyed about us not telling them but I think once we explain our reasons they'll understand. And Ross will be happy… eventually."_

_"You sure about that? I have visions of him chasing me out of Manhattan."_

As she heard the nervous chuckle Rachel vowed that she'd help them with Ross. Although she and him were no longer dating, they still had a bond and he'd listen to her opinion.

_"Let's just tell them next time we're all together,"she heard Chandler suggest. "I'll bribe Joey with some sandwiches to ensure he gives a good testimonial about what a fantastic couple we make."_

Joey knew? Why would they tell him and not her? Why had he not told her? Joey hated keeping secrets! Hell, he hated gossip of most kinds. She heard the waitress arrive at their table to clear away the empty plates, asking if there was anything else she could get them.

_"Just the bill thanks,"_ _Chandler said._

Once the waitress had left she heard Monica's throaty chuckle,_"think we could ask for some of those chocolate strawberries to takeaway?"_

_"Depends if you have any whipped cream at home."_

It felt weird to hear them flirting although, in fairness, they didn't know she was listening. She now wondered how weird Monica had found her and Ross flirting; it was her brother after all.

_"I love you."_

_"I love you too," Chandler replied so at ease. Commitment-phobe Chandler._ _"And after tomorrow when the whole gang knows, I'll be able to tell you openly. I'll be able to hold your hand, snuggle on the armchair..." _

They did that anyway Rachel thought. They really were just hiding in plain sight.

Rachel heard them start to get up and prepare to leave. Quickly, she grabbed her menu holding it up against her face hoping it would hide her enough. Suddenly, her waitress appeared in front of her and with a wink used her body to shield Rachel from her friends. She smiled gratefully, waiting for them to pass.

She shouldn't have worried, it was clear that the couple only had eyes for each other; caught in their own world. They passed at a leisurely pace, Chandler's hand on Monica's back as he guided her through the restaurant. By the door she saw them pause as they leant forward for a quick kiss, eyes sparkling and locked on one another.

"Aww, they're cute together," the waitress commented.

"Yeah, they are," Rachel agreed. Even after eavesdropping on their evening, it wasn't until she saw them together that she realized just how right they were with one another. How happy and comfortable they were. "Thanks for hiding me by the way."

"Not a problem." she assured her. "Is there anything else I can get you?"

Rachel declined and finished her drink quickly. She was eager to get some fresh air and ponder what she had learnt. After paying, generously tipping and thanking the waitress she made it outside and took a deep breath.

Wow.

What a night.

The restaurant wasn't far from the apartment, nor her heels particularly high, so she opted to walk the short distance instead of hunting for a cab.

Monica and Chandler. Together. Who knew? She still couldn't quite believe it. Her friends had been in a relationship for 6 months – it was incredible. She just wished they had told her. She was happy for them, really happy. Neither of them had had much luck with relationships – she doubted any of their past relationships had lasted this long.

In one way she was surprised that they hadn't got together sooner. They were always touchy feely close and knew each other probably better than they knew themselves. On the other hand, it probably made a lot of sense that they'd left it until now. Both had changed a lot over the years. She couldn't imagine a young Chandler, terrified of even sharing his food with his girlfriend happily dating baby-wanting 'I planned my wedding when I was 7' Monica.

It was such big news! She desperately wanted to tell someone but she couldn't do that to them. It was their secret to tell…but thank god they were planning on telling everyone tomorrow anyhow. As much as she would have tried to keep their secret she wasn't the best at that kind of thing. She was a natural born gossip; it was her duty to share what she heard with anyone who wanted to listen.

But she could last another 24 hours without telling anyone.

She was sure of that.

* * *

When Rachel made it home Monica was already in her dressing gown on the couch.

"Hey Rachel," she greeted, "how was your date?"

She felt a little bad that it was Monica's 6 month anniversary but that her friend was having to ask how her first date had been. No doubt waiting for her to go to bed so she could sneak over to Chandler's or vice versa.

"It was…interesting," she said, hanging her coat up and throwing her handbag into her room, "but I don't think I'll be seeing him again."

"Aw, that sucks," Monica sympathized as Rachel came and sat next to her. "How come?"

"I just didn't get the impression that he was listening to me ya know, like he wasn't really paying attention," she lied.

"Too bad. Did he at least take you somewhere nice?"

"Yeah La….Marco's," she was proud of herself for avoiding that pithole. Phew.

"Nice."

"Yeah," she agreed; it had been nice when she went there a few weeks ago.

"How about I make some hot chocolate?" Monica offered smiling, already getting up from the couch. As she stood up a small jewelry box went flying across the floor.

Monica froze. Rachel froze .

She needed to see the earrings...she couldn't wait until tomorrow for that. "W-what's that?" she tried to keep her voice casual.

"Oh, I ah, treated myself to some earrings," she murmured although Rachel could see her smiling at the thought of them.

"Can I see?" she asked.

"Sure," she shrugged, probably unable to come up with any excuse, "but don't judge me ok?"

"Judge you?" Rachel asked confused as Monica picked up the escaped box. "Why would I judge you?"

"Because they're a little extravagant for me to be buying myself, but I LOVE them."

Oh right. Poor Monica – not even able to show off a present without having to lie and come up with an excuse. She wondered how hard it must have been for them over the last half year.

Hesitantly, Monica handed her the box with an air of nervous excitement around her. She wanted to show her, that much was obvious. She wanted her approval even if it was just for a pair of earrings. Rachel accepted the box eager to finally see the sapphires. With a flick of her wrist she expertly opened it, well used to any a jewelry box, and let out a little gasp. They were beautiful.

"Oh Monica," tears came to her eyes; she was so happy for her friend. "They're beautiful! I can't believe Chandler actually chose these!"

"What?"

Oh shoot. 24 hours? She hadn't even made it 24 minutes…

"What?" she weakly mimicked hoping to throw her off.

"You said Chandler." It hadn't thrown her off. As Rachel winced Monica gasped. "You know!"

"Fine I know," Rachel finally admitted.

"How long?"

"Not very long," Rachel smiled. Monica was looking nervously at her so she needed to reassure her. "I wasn't going to say anything until you told everyone but Monica, I'm so happy for you." Still clutching the earrings so pulled Monica into a big hug which her friend returned with fever, "this is so amazing."

"I know!" Monica laughed through her tears. "I've wanted to tell you for so long."

They continued hugging for a while.

"Look," Rachel pulled away, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I've got soooo many questions Mon. How about you make that hot chocolate and I'll change out of this dress and we can have a long girly chat?"

Monica nodded, smiling through her tears. Finally, finally after 6 months she had someone to talk to; a girl to talk to. She was so excited! She dashed into the kitchen and pulled out a couple of mugs and started to make them hot chocolate. She was so relieved that Rachel wasn't mad, that she was excited for them.

Rachel came back into the room in her vest top and tartan pajama bottoms, just as Monica brought over the filled mugs. Excited she jumped onto the couch, tucking her legs under her. Monica copied her actions facing her, both still smiling.

"I'm so happy you know!" Monica exclaimed, hugging the warm mug closer to her. "There's so much I've been dying to share with you Rach."

"Good because I have sooo many questions," she grinned back. "Like when did this happen?"

"London," Monica blushed.

"London?" Rachel asked surprised. "My god Monica that's...I just..."

"I know," she chuckled. "It was the night before the wedding. The rehearsal dinner hadn't been a very pleasant experience for either of us. We didn't know that many people there, Chandler's best man speech bombed, I had my mom constantly putting me down and…"

"And?"

"And some drunk guy mistook me for Ross' mom."

"What?" Rachel laughed, regretting it when she saw the look on Monica's face. "I mean 'what'?" she changed her tone to sound more sympathetic.

"I was mortified and got very drunk," Monica admitted taking a sip of the chocolate. "Chandler kept trying to cheer me up and was being so sweet," she grinned. "He looked after me but after he said…"

"Said what?" She asked eagerly.

Monica looked up at her friend. "He said I was beautiful, Rach, but the way he said it you know? He said I was the most beautiful girl in the room, and then he added I was the most beautiful woman in most rooms and something just clicked. I start kissing him and before we knew it…"

Rachel wiped away a tear. Before tonight she wouldn't have ever thought of Chandler being romantic but after what she'd heard earlier she was no longer surprised.

"Was it good?" she wiggled her eyebrows.

"Oooh yeah," Monica grinned wickedly.

"Yeah?" Rachel chuckled taking a sip of her drink.

"7 times that first night."

Rachel almost choked, "what?" she coughed.

"Uh huh, it was amazing. Still is."

"Wait…" Rachel swallowed recovering. "Is he…when you were talking about your secret waiter boyfriend? That was Chandler? The best you'd ever had?"

"Yeah," Monica smiled shyly.

"Wow." Who knew? "That's why he did that damn dance on the table."

"Yep and he paid for that," she winked which made Rachel laugh.

"So, when you woke up in London the morning after did you both confess your feelings for each other?"

"God no," Monica snorted. "It was very awkward, especially as I had to hide under the covers when Ross burst in."

Rachel laughed, she could just imagine Ross' reaction if he'd discovered his little sister in Chandler's bed. Ouch.

"We were gonna just leave it as a London thing, neither of us wanting to risk our friendship but well, I guess, we discovered that just wasn't an option. It wasn't until Phoebe had the triplets and Chandler got all jealous over that nurse that we actually admitted it was a relationship."

"Aw yeah, the nurseman," Rachel smiled remembering how scrummy he was. "That's why you ditched him. Say, I have a question. Why does Joey know?"

"He actually worked it out," Monica confessed, smiling at Rachel's disbelieving look. "He did."

"Joey figured it out before the rest of us? Just how…how is that possible?"

"Well," Monica grinned. "In fairness to the rest of you he had an advantage. See, we went away for a weekend together, to New Jersey...when I said I had that culinary fair?"

"I remember that – I thought you had a horrible time?"

"I did," she laughed. "We had a stupid fight and it ruined the whole weekend."

"Oh."

"Yeah, it sucked! But Chandler had mentioned a few things to Joey and then I mentioned the same things to everyone…and Joey actually did the math."

"Wow. The mind boggles." Rachel mused as she drank some more of the chocolate. "Was it hard sneaking around all the time?"

"Uh yeah," Monica laughed. "The number of times you almost caught us – especially at the beginning, but it was kinda fun too."

"Oh the European kissing thing? He kissed you first both times before kissing us."

"Yeh he got in trouble for that too." Monica grinned. "And do you remember that time you came into my room and he was in his boxers?"

"Yeah...he'd sat on something and you didn't want him getting it on your new bedding while he was helping you sort your washing..."

"Uh huh, and that time you saw him coming out of the bathroom at 3 am?"

"He said the duck had been sick in their bathroom."

"Yeeeeah," Monica laughed with a shrug, "we sucked at making up excuses. We just weren't ready to tell everyone. So how did you find out?"

"Ah," Rachel looked down slightly embarrassed. "I, uh, I only found out tonight…at dinner."

"Dinner? We didn't go to Marco's?" She saw the looked on Rachel's face, "and you didn't either did you?"

"No, he took me to La Rive Gauche."

"On a first date? Really?"

"I know!" Rachel laughed. "I was surprised too. Even more surprised when we sat in the booth next to you."

"Oh," Monica blushed a little trying to think if she'd said anything too private.

"I overheard bits, sorry, I know I shouldn't have listened but I couldn't help it! I was in shock."

"Nah, that's ok," Monica relented. "Besides if your date was ignoring you, you didn't have much choice."

"Right." Rachel agreed deciding to let Monica believe that. "I couldn't believe how romantic Chandler was."

"I know," Monica sighed dreamily and Rachel could see just how happy her friend was. It had to hurt smiling that much. "He's such a good boyfriend. When we started out we had no idea what this would turn into but it's going sooo well. It's the one the reasons we didn't want to tell anyone. At first we didn't want the attention or pressure as we were working it out ourselves. Once we'd figured out that we were onto something amazing we were both afraid to jinx it. Then the idea of telling everyone after we'd kept it secret for so long, it made it harder. I'm just so relieved you know now and that you don't hate me."

"Of course I don't hate you. It's just so nice to see you happy Mon," Rachel smiled. "It really is you know. You deserve it so much and I'm so excited!"

* * *

The girls got caught up in their gossiping not realizing a few hours had passed. Both jumped when the front door opened and Chandler worked in, bunch of red roses in his hand.

He froze when he spotted them. What the heck were they doing awake? Panicked he tried to hide the flowers behind his back and act casual, "hey, I uh I saw your light on and wanted your opinion on…" he struggled to come up with a quick excuse so decided to meekly pull out the roses, "…these roses."

The women shared a smile and Rachel couldn't help thinking how cute he was right now. Chandler cute...it was a night of revelations.

"Well, let me see," Rachel teased walking over to him and inspecting the stems."They're nice Chandler but roses, earrings, champagne – how the heck do you plan to top this for your one year anniversary?"

"W-what?" he asked worried, his eyes going to Monica in fear.

"It's ok," Monica laughed as she stood up and joined them, her arms sliding around his waist, seeming to naturally fit. "She knows."

"What?" he repeated but Monica reached up and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"She knows hun," she grinned up at him. "She was at the same restaurant tonight."

"Oh." He turned his attention back to Rachel, he seemed a little apprehensive even with Monica wrapped around him. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you sooner," he told her sincerely.

"It's ok, I understand," Rachel smiled. "We've had a really good chat and everything is fine. I'm happy for you guys."

"Thanks Rachel," the tension seemed to drain from him as he looked down to Monica with relief. She suddenly realized that he had been scared for Monica- worried that she'd have bad blood between her and her best friend. Damn it, when had Chandler become the model boyfriend?

"Well," Rachel made an exaggerated stretch and yawn, "I should probably head to bed and let you two enjoy the rest of your anniversary."

She turned and headed towards her bedroom, when she heard her name, "Rachel!". Before she could turn around she found herself wrapped in Monica's arms. "Thank you," she murmured and Rachel just smiled, patting Monica's arm before silently heading to bed.

Monica turned and smiled brightly at Chandler. He couldn't help but return the smile as he pulled her into his arms, "hey you," he said softly into her ear, "you ok?"

She nodded against his chest, suddenly overcome with 6 months' worth of emotion. She was so relieved to no longer have to hide their relationship from Rachel. Relieved that she had a girl that she could talk to and that Rachel had taken it well – best case scenario. It was a perfect end to a perfect evening.

"I love you so much," she murmured, lifting her head to look at him.

"Me too," he promised quietly leaning down for a kiss.

They were still kissing when Rachel came out.

"Sorry, I thought you'd be in there by now," she gestured to Monica's bedroom. "Don't mind me – just going to the bathroom."

"Taking this into the bedroom isn't such a bad idea," Chandler whispered in her ear, "let's see if we can beat London's record."

"Ok!" Monica agreed eagerly, grabbing his hand tightly as they ran into her bedroom and firmly closed the door.

* * *

~~Epilogue~~

_Six Months Later…_

"Hey," Chandler greeted entering apartment 20, a big smile on his face.

"Look at you all dressed up," Joey teased from the couch where he and Ross were seated.

"Well I try," Chandler grinned his eyes searching the room for his girlfriend. "Where's Mon?"

"Oh she's in her room with Rachel and Pheebs getting ready...doing girly stuff."

Chandler nodded nervously and walked to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

"I can't believe you guys have been together a year," Ross commented. "I can't believe a year ago I was still with Emily."

Chandler winced slightly, hoping his best friend wouldn't focus on that. Luckily he was saved from commenting when Rachel emerged from Monica's room.

"I've done her hair," Rachel smiled. "Phoebe's just finishing off her make up."

"Great," Chandler grinned, still slightly nervous as Rachel came and joined him in the kitchen.

"So," Rachel asked quietly, "you set the bar quite high for your 6 month anniversary. How are you planning on topping it tonight?"

"I have something up my sleeve or actually in my pocket," he replied not giving much away.

"Chandler!" she protested. "Tell me!"

"Nooo," he playfully argued, "but it's gonna be good."

"Better than the earrings? Which by the way she's wearing tonight."

"Really?" he grinned, he loved it when she wore them.

"Uh huh, so spill."

"Nope," Chandler said simply, "you can't keep secrets."

"What?" she asked incredulously. "You're going off on your date in like 5 minutes – I think I can keep a secret that long."

Chandler scoffed at her in disbelief. "Two words for you 'Flamingo' 'Incident'."

"That was not my fault," she shot back. "Joey-" She didn't get to finish her defense as Monica stepped out of her bedroom looking stunning.

Her dress, make-up and hair were beautiful, but on top of that her expression was filled with such happiness that it blew Chandler away. He'd never know how he'd managed to get a girl like Monica.

"Wow," he breathed as she came into his arms for a quick peck of the lips. "You look…wow."

She laughed, grabbing his hand, "you don't look too bad yourself," she smiled. "You ready to go?"

"Sure," he nodded. "See you guys later."

The gang all waved and said their goodbyes apart from Rachel who was still scowling at him.

"Oh shoot," Chandler said as soon as they were out of the apartment. "I left my wallet on the table. Are you ok to go and grab a cab?"

"Ok," she grinned giving him a quick kiss before heading down the stairs.

Chandler dashed back into the girls' apartment and went straight to Rachel. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him as he dug into his pocket pulling out a small jewelry box. Fumbling slightly he managed to open it to reveal a sapphire and diamond engagement ring.

"Does this top the earrings?" he asked softly.

"Oh my god," Rachel welled up.

"Wish me luck," he grinned, running out of the door to catch up with his hopefully soon to be fiancee.

Rachel couldn't believe it. She thought she'd never be as shocked as she had been 6 months ago. She'd been wrong…she wondered if Chandler realised that for their next anniversary Monica would probably expect babies…

* * *

A/N - thanks for the amazing reviews and comments on my last story. I hope you liked this one!


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